HUMAN FACTORS

Human factors or ergonomics is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. In order to design for the proper safety and performance measures of a product, the science behind the understanding of human interaction is applied to the project to optimize user well-being and overall system performance. It’s a combination of numerous disciplines, including psychology, sociology, engineering, biomechanics, industrial design, user experience, and user interface design. In essence, it is the design of equipment, devices and processes that fit the human body and its cognitive abilities.

The goal of this essential piece of the design puzzle is to reduce human error, increase productivity, and enhance safety and comfort, making it critical to the successful adoption and use of the product. By placing focus on this part of the process, we ensure that the product being developed will be safe and user friendly from the outset, while also assuring that it won’t be the cause of musculoskeletal disorders like repetitive strain injuries that would be harmful to users.

The Juggernaut team has over twenty years of experience in observational research and leverages behavioral physiology to assist with identifying key human factor issues on development projects. Working from the design definition and product strategy, we start with observational research. Once concepts have been developed, we use quick form study models to uncover key human factor issues, leading to the development of prototypes which are then utilized in testing in the end-user environment, which allows for further refinement based on the data uncovered. It is this deliberate and careful approach to human factors that delivers safe and effective user environments.